USRowing will have nine boats racing on Friday at the third stop of the 2007 Rowing World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland. The U.S. will have one entry competing in the men's single sculls, men's double sculls, women's double sculls, lightweight women's double sculls, men's quadruple sculls, women's pair, men's pair, lightweight men's four and women's eight.
The women's pair of Anna Mickelson (Bellevue, Wash.) and Megan Cooke (Los Gatos, Calif.), which won a silver medal at this season's first world cup regatta in Austria, will race The Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Denmark and Great Britain in the first of two heats. The winning crew advances directly to Sunday's final, while the remaining boats will row in a repechage, or second-chance race, on Saturday.
In the lightweight women's double sculls, Wendy Tripician (Needham, Mass.) and Jana Heere (Bensalem, Pa.) won a bronze medal in their first international race together at the second world cup stop in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Tripician and Heere are looking to build on that performance this weekend. They will take on crews from Switzerland, Ireland, Great Britain, Russia and the Czech Republic in the third of three heats. The top two crews move on to Saturday's semifinals, while the rest will race in the repechages on Friday afternoon.
In the women's double sculls, Ala Piotrowski (Manchester, N.H.) and Jennifer Kaido (West Leyden, N.Y.) finished fourth at the world cup stop in Austria and are looking to reach the medal stand in Lucerne. The duo will take on crews from Norway, New Zealand and Italy in the second of three heats, with the top three finishers moving on to Saturday's semifinals and the remaining boat heading to an afternoon repechage.
The lightweight men's four of Tom Paradiso (Blue Bell, Pa.), Patrick Todd (Cincinnati, Ohio), Scott Wallen (Woodbridge, Va.) and Colin Farrell (Oaklyn, N.J.) will take on boats from The Netherlands, Egypt, Ireland, France and Japan in the fourth of four heats on Friday. The winner of the race moves on to Saturday's semifinals, while the remaining crews will race in a repechage. The U.S. crew includes three of the four men that rowed to a sixth-place finish in the event at the first world cup race in Austria. Wallen is the newcomer to the lineup, replacing Andrew Bolton (Old Lyme, Conn.), who is racing at the 2007 Pan American Games in Brazil this weekend.
The men's quadruple sculls crew of J. Sloan DuRoss (South Portland, Maine), Mike Perry (Ann Arbor, Mich.), Mark Flickinger (Big Flats, N.Y.) and Shane O'Mara (Tampa, Fla.) finished seventh at last month's world cup race in Amsterdam. In Friday's heat, the quartet will take on boats from the Czech Republic, Germany, Estonia and Romania. The top two finishers advance to the semifinals, with the remaining crews heading to the repechages.
The men's double sculls tandem of Matt Hughes (Ludington, Mich.) and Sam Stitt (McLean, Va.) finished eighth in the event at the second world cup stop in Amsterdam. The duo will take on Norway, Slovakia, Estonia, France and Croatia in the first of three heats. The top two finishers advance directly to the semifinals, while the remaining crews race in an afternoon repechage.
Micah Boyd (St. Paul, Minn.) and Ted Farwell (Madison, Wis.) will race in the first of three heats in the men's pair. The duo will take on crews from the Czech Republic, Poland, Australia, Spain and Italy, with the top two finishers moving on to Saturday's semifinals. The remaining crews will race in a repechage on Friday afternoon.
In the men's single sculls, Jonathan Burns (Vancouver, Wash.) will race scullers from Sweden, Austria and France in the fourth of six heats. The top three finishers advance to the quarterfinals.
With only six boats entered in the event, the women's eight of coxswain Mary Whipple (Sacramento, Calif.), Susan Francia (Abington, Pa.), Caroline Lind (Greensboro, N.C.), Rachel Jeffers (Los Gatos, Calif.), Erin Cafaro (Modesto, Calif.), Lindsay Shoop (Charlottesville, Va.), Anna Goodale (Camden, Maine), Portia Johnson (Seattle, Wash.) and Brett Sickler (Los Gatos, Calif.) will row in a race for lane assignments on Friday. The winner gets the top seed in Sunday's final.
More than 875 rowers from 41 nations are scheduled to compete in Lucerne. Racing continues on Saturday with the remaining repechages and semifinals. Finals will take place on Sunday. The event will be streamed live in the United States on the World Championship Sports Network Web site at www.wcsn.com. Complete entry lists, heat sheets and results can be accessed at www.worldrowing.com.
The Rowing World Cup series was launched in 1997 and includes all 14 Olympic boat classes. The overall Rowing World Cup champions are determined after a series of three regattas.